Safe House
by Drix
Summary: REVISED AND UPDATED.Set after the battle in Kyoto. Then new government decides that they would prefer to keep track of a few certain manslayers, guess which ones?
1. I Don't Love Him, Really I Don't

**Authors Note: **This is a revised version of Safe house, not big changes, just little ones. Please enjoy and put your hands together for my awsome beta, Hikari Tsuki Chi.

**Chapter One: I Don't Love Him...Really I Don't**

That day it was especially dreary. The dark rain clouds foretelling some ominous happenstance that was sure to come about.

The girl at the dojo wasn't even paying attention to the weather, though. She was arguing with her own consciousness. _You love him!_ Her mind screamed at her. But the girl stubbornly refused to acknowledge these traitorous thoughts. She most certainly did not love him. Just look what he had put her through, Jin-e, the Oniwaban, Raijuta, Saito, Shishio, and those were just the major offences, not mentioning the minor ones he had inflicted upon her, Yahiko, Sanosuke, and the dreaded Miss Megumi. But all this paled in comparison when she thought of how hehad just left her to go fight in Kyoto.

And what's worse, now that he was back in Tokyo, safe at home, he had the nerve to act as if nothing had happened.

But it didn't matter, because she really didn't love Kenshin, not one whit. _Who are you trying to fool... _Her heart whispered, her mood unknowingly matching the encroaching rain clouds.

**Somewhere Too Near**

"Come on, talk to me. You know if you look at this the right way, it's all your fault. If you had stayed in Kyoto, none of this would have happened, the Oniwaban would still be alive and we would have never been in this mess. So it's all your fault. And even so, you  
were supposed to be protecting me. If you had been there, I wouldn't have been taken and they would never have had the chance to blackmail you. So it's all you fault."

_Yeah right_, Aoshi thought, _but I'll let you go on believing it._

**Still Too Near**

"If you don't talk to me soon, I'm going to use your own sword to cut your head off. I'm sorry that I let myself get kidnapped. But really, you can't blame them. You three are really dangerous. We can just count our blessings they didn't try to assassinate you. I'm sure living with them won't be so bad."

_Yeah right_, Saito thought, _but I'll let you go on believing it._


	2. Racoon, Fox, and Weasel, not a good mix

**Authors Note: **Standard disclaimer, yada yada yada. I just want to give a special thanks to my beta, Hikari Tsuki Chi, without her patience and willingness to put up with my procrastination these chapters wouldn't exist.

**Chapter Two: Raccoon, Fox, and Weasel...not a good mix**

Kenshin looked up from the washing for a second just to look around. Ayame and Suzume were playing catch with Yahiko, Sano and Megumi were talking on the deck. But Miss Kaoru was in the yard just staring at the doors to the dojo as if waiting of them to open. She had the most peculiar look on her face.

He set down what he had been about to hang on the line and started to walk over to her. But when he was halfway there he felt two very powerful swordsman spirits coming towards the door. He grabbed his sword and opened his mouth to warn her when there came a loud knock on the door. Followed by "Himura" being yelled through the door.

Kaoru jumped three feet into the air before moving to answer the door. But Kenshin appeared in front of it before she'd taken one step in the doors' direction.

"Kenshin? Is something wrong?" Kaoru asked as she made her way to Kenshin's side. But his face had turned hard and he was no longer the gentle rurouni she knew but was well on his way to becoming the Battousai she was coming to accept.

Kenshin opened the door and Miss Misao bounced over the threshold. She was once again wearing her ninja outfit. She had a big smile on her face and when Kenshin looked down he noticed that she had two large bags with her, full to overflowing.

Kenshin looked into her face and smiled. He had missed her since he had left Kyoto. "Hello, Miss Misao. What do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" It was strange that she was here and he could still feel the two very strong swordsman's spirits that were coming towards the door.

"Sir Ken, who is your friend and why is she dressed like that. I don't think we should let the neighbors see her, they already look down on us enough because of the way Kaoru dresses when she trains Yahiko."

Both of the younger women looked at Megumi with murder in their eyes. Kenshin tried to back away from the three angry women without being noticed. But stopped immediately when Kaoru started yelling.

"How can you say that Miss Megumi? I don't embarrass —" but before Kaoru could finish Misao cut her off.

"Who do you think you are? What right do you think you have to insult warriors like myself and Kaoru, you ugly old miss. You wouldn't know beauty if I slapped you with it."

"Wait a minute, you can't insult Miss Megumi like that. Take that back."

"No way."

"Yes way."

"No"

"Yes."

Kenshin's eyes got bigger as the three girls argued. He was staring so hard that their faces started to blur until all her saw was a fox, a weasel, and a raccoon. To be honest, he'd always liked raccoons.

Then all at once three whiney voices were calling for him.

"KENSHIN!"

"SIR KEN!"

"HIMURA!"

_I am going to die,_ he thought, gulping nervously. _With my luck, Miss Kaoru and Miss Misao will hurt me badly, and Miss Megumi will refuse to treat me. What did I do to deserve this!_

For a moment he seriously considered using his godlike speed to get away from the angry females but they would only track him down later. He turned around slowly, his facial expression that of the innocent man that knows what's in store for him. He put his hands out in front of him in the universal sign of peace.

"Now, now ladies, let's all try to get along alright? Now Misao, please, tell us why you have come to Tokyo?"

The women had calmed down somewhat and words couldn't describe how relieved Kenshin was. _Thank God... _Misao opened her mouth to answer, but before it even happened, he knew that it wouldn't be her that answered him. One of the swordsman's spirits had been coming closer and closer, and he had finally recognized it. And it was that voice that answered him. "It seems, Battousai, that we are moving in."

If Kenshin didn't know better, he would swear that Buddha was laughing at him.

* * *

"Oh, I see it. It looks like a lovely place. I hope they have enough space for all of us."

Saito and his wife walked down the street to the doors of the Kamiya dojo. Saito wasn't exactly looking forward to explaining all this to Himura and his friends, but the government hadn't given him any choice.  
But although he wasn't looking forward to this move, Tokio was trying to make the best of it so he wouldn't start to complain until he could do it with Himura and Aoshi Shinomori.

"Hajime? Should we knock or just go in? I mean they don't know  
to expect us."

But before he could answer her question the door was opened by Sanosuke Sagara, who was smiling wildly.

"Hey, Saito, long time no see. Aoshi said you would fill us in on why you guys have been forced to move in. Kenshin and Missy are waiting for you with the others in the dojo. By the way, who's your companion?"

Sanosuke sidled over to Tokio and gave her a most charming smile. He started to take her arm and lead her in without having his question answered but Saito moved between them and said, "My wife, Tokio."

And walked his wife inside while Sano was busy eating dirt. He quickly caught up to them and showed them the way to the dojo._ Since when is he **married!**_ Thought Sanosuke, still in shock.

* * *

Inside Kenshin and Kaoru were sitting against the far wall, a foot away from each other, but still presenting a united front as the leaders of this household. Beside Kaoru sat Yahiko, yelling across the room at Misao, who was sitting next to the standing Aoshi, who was looking at Yahiko with narrowed eyes. Megumi was sitting as far from Aoshi as she could get while still sitting in the same room. Ayame and Suzume were sitting on either side of her, unusually quiet.

Sano went over to sit beside Kenshin, and Saito moved to stand beside Aoshi on the far wall and listened to the argument between the two young warriors .

"What are you talking about? Lord Aoshi is the best warrior. I'm sure he could beat anyone he went up against."

"He can't beat Kenshin, now can he?" This, Saito was sure, had been going on for a while, with the way Aoshi and Kaoru were looking at each other and then the youngsters.  
Tokio cleared her throat and all noise in the dojo stopped.

Everyone in the room stared at her, this small, red-haired woman, that was half Saito's size but could obviously control armies. She walked to the center of the room, commanding all attention, and they all looked at her, perplexed. Saito could sympathize, he had felt the same way when he had first met her, which was the reason he'd run hell bent for leather in the other direction, and her following right after him.

"It seems that we'll all be living together now. Hajime will explain the specifics to you later, but I just wanted to introduce myself now. I am Hajime's wife, Tokio."

The room was now so quiet you could here a pin drop. And then Kaoru whispered, "She must be Buddha." And Tokio smiled a smile of gentle indulgence.

"Not quite," she said, "but close. Hajime, I believe, is ready to tell his story, so I will leave the floor to him." With that she went to sit beside Megumi and the little girls. Saito pushed away from the wall and walked to the center of the room.

"A month after our battle in Kyoto, the Meiji government reformed itself, and the new officials in power aren't half as lenient with us as the old ones were, they don't know us. So they decided that if we were going to live, they wanted us all in the same place. They don't even need to send someone here to keep tabs on us, since I'm a police officer. They decided to drop all of us here at the Kamiya dojo because for one, it's in Tokyo, where the government is based, and two, because the Battousai is the only one of us that might be a good influence on the rest of us."

After he had finished, Saito went back to stand over his wife.

"Hey, what happened to Eiji?" Questioned Misao.

"I was wondering that as well Saito." Added Kenshin.

Saito sighed and looked annoyed. "Tokio didn't want to bring him until she was sure that he would flourish in this environment, so we left him with her married sister, he'll be arriving in about two weeks."

Tokio looked startled at that. "I thought we both agreed that we wouldn't send for him until we had settled in for a few weeks, Hajime."

Saito smiled gently down at her"In two weeks we'll have settled in and he'll be here, so what's the problem"

"Who is Eiji?" asked Kaoru.

"Eiji was a boy we saved from a village that had been taken over by Shishio's men. His family was killed, so Saito left him with Tokio while we were in Kyoto." explained Kenshin.

(Kaoru's POV)

Kaoru was annoyed, she not only had one Manslayer living here, but three, and two others on the way.

She stood up and walked to the center of the room, where people seemed to be able to get the attention of the room. She looked them all in the eyes, and then began.

"Since this is my home, I want to be the first to welcome you all, even though nobody asked me and I'm the one who owns this place. But I'm afraid we have a few problems. The first of which is that I don't make enough money to support all of us. I have a job training students outside the dojo but it doesn't pay that well, and not well enough to pay for the food and board of eight people."

Kaoru stopped a moment and thought, then a luminous smile graced her face, "But I do have a suggestion, with your cooperation Aoshi, we could open a school for people wanting to learn Kempo."

Aoshi thought about it for a moment and shrugged, saying only, "I will consider it."

"You'll do more than consider it, you big dummy, you'll do it and I'll be your assistant." Misao had stood as her voice rose, she had one fist cocked in the air and the other pointed at Aoshi. "I know that Miss Kaoru has been supporting Kenshin and her friends. We can't put any more weight on her shoulders than there already is. So you're going to do it."

Aoshi stood up and took a few menacing steps toward Misao, a wider smile formed on her face and she stood up to face him. He came closer and closer until they were standing practically nose to nose. Aoshi's right hand moved to his kodachi while Misao grabbed her daggers, changing her stance to that of the defensive, but still smiling.

"Is that an order, Misao? I do not believe a member of the Oniwaban is allowed to give her leader orders." He said in that husky, authorative way of his. His face was hard, but his eyes were amused.

Everyone looked toward Misao, waiting for her answer. "No. A member of the Oniwaban is not giving her leader an order. But I, Misao, am giving you, Aoshi Shinomori, an order."

He looked confused for a moment and then nodded. Everyone assumed that that meant that he had agreed. Misao nodded and sat down again under her lords' watchful eyes.  
Kaoru smiled, happy with her success. She looked over at Kenshin and he smiled approvingly. She was happy that she had solved that problem.

She was about to list the further problems that had presented themselves to her when a question came from an unexpected person.

"Aoshi, if you're going to teach kempo, I am willing to learn it. As I've been told before, I need to improve my skills." When Sano finished he looked toward Saito.

Saito smirked and said, "As I've stated before, you're too much of a liability in battle."

Tokio looked up at him and said hotly, "At least some people, unlike others, know when to ask for help."

Saito paled a tad and looked a bit embarrassed. It seemed that a bit of his past had come back to bite him on the butt.

"I would be honored to teach such a humble student."

And nothing more was said on that particular subject. Kaoru smiled gently. It was good that Sano would have something to do during the day. She set a more determined look on her face.

"Okay, the house has ten rooms, but unfortunately, only four are livable at the moment.  
We can bunk up tonight, but tomorrow we will have to start cleaning. Yahiko, you and Kenshin can bunk tonight in his room. Aoshi, you can bunk in with Sano. Saito, you and Tokio can take Yahiko's room. Misao, you bunk with me. Now, it's late and I think we all need some sleep, so lets all get ready for bed."

Kaoru started to walk to the door but faltered and would have fallen hard on her face if Kenshin hadn't used his god-like speed to catch her.

"Kaoru!" Yahiko yelled. She looked around, it seemed that everyone had been about to get up and try to catch her. It surprised her, but it made her feel something, like a flutter in her heart. And then she looked up into Kenshin's eyes, they held things she didn't  
even want to put a name to, but most of all concern.

"Are you alright, Miss Kaoru? You should be more careful, that you should."

"I'm alright, Kenshin, I guess I'm just more tired than I thought."

"You're working to hard, Missy. You need to take a break. Now that there are more people here, you can take more time for yourself."

Kaoru looked toward Sano with a grateful smile. It was true that her job had been tiring her out lately, but if she didn't provide for them, no one would. But now there was someone here to help her. A lot of someone's. She was grateful that he had said that.

Aoshi, however, was more practical, "A woman should not have to work when there are men living in her house. True men would know better then to let their women work themselves into exhaustion."

Kenshin looked at him with a tortured expression in his eyes. Kaoru looked toward Sanosuke, thinking he might start a fight after a comment like that, but when she looked at him, he looked like he was dealing with self-hatred. Kaoru, however, believed this was Aoshi's way of being concerned and reassuring her about his willingness to help out.

"You're right about that Aoshi, that you are. But, hopefully, things will change around here soon. But for now, Miss Kaoru, you need to get some rest. Sano and I will take care of things around here for the next couple of days, you just rest yourself. Miss Megumi, if you'll please give Miss Kaoru something that will help her sleep, and Miss Misao, will you please go with them and help Miss Kaoru get ready for bed? Thank you."

Kaoru found herself being taken from Kenshin's arms and deposited caringly into Miss Megumi's and Miss Misao's care and being led toward her bedroom.

(Kenshin's POV)

Kenshin watched her walk away. He was angry at himself for letting her tire herself out so badly. Aoshi was right, he should have done something about this situation long ago. He had let it go on this long, but no more. She would have to tell her students that if they wanted to learn they would do it at the Kamiya dojo, and, hopefully, the money brought in by Aoshi's new school would be enough to pay for the expenses of eight people living here.

But right now he had other things to take care of. Like getting Miss Megumi safely home. And he needed to talk to Saito and Aoshi alone, they needed to know more about how many manslayers they were going to send here, ones that were a threat to the family he had built here. People like Saito and Aoshi he could trust because of their honor codes, Saito's rule to slay only evil, and Aoshi's honor bound moral's to the Oniwaban. Plus, Kenshin believed that if Aoshi tried to hurt innocent people Misao would try to kill him.

"Sano, please show Mrs. Saito to her room and escort Miss Megumi home."

"Sure Kenshin, I could use the exercise anyway. I'll see you guys later."

"Hajime, I'll wait up for you in bed. I want to know what you three talk about. And I know you'll tell me all about it, won't you."

Without waiting for an answer she turned around and followed Sanosuke to her new room.

Kenshin turned around and looked at two men he had fought hard battles with before, but would probably never fight again, for they were living under Kaoru's roof now and he would never bring that aspect of his life here ever again. The last time was when he had  
fought with Saito before going to Kyoto, and he had seen the pain in her face caused by that fight. He never wanted to see her face look like that again. Aoshi pushed away from the wall and took a step towards Kenshin, he had followed the Battousai's thoughts and silently agreed.

"Battousai," he said, trying to get the other mans full attention. Kenshin gave it to him, "Please, Aoshi we are all going to be living together, that we are, you should call me Kenshin."

Aoshi nodded, "Kenshin. In Kyoto you gave me a bit of advice that turned my life around, mine and Misao's. I think now is the time that I give you some advice. That girl loves you, it's very obvious. Do not make her suffer as she obviously is, it is cruel, and I know you are anything but cruel."

Kenshin thought this over. He'd known for some time that Kaoru had feelings for him, but he hadn't known the extent of those feelings. _But I don't want to complicate her life anymore than I've already have. _He thought, looking toward Saito. This man who was a manslayer, who had a wife who seemed happy, who seems to have a happy life with her husband. _Could I make Kaoru happy like that as well?_

"I agree with Aoshi. Kyoto's over, this is the time to express your true feelings. Since I have some experience in the matter, I'll give you some advice, don't make her wait too long, she's liable to change her mind."

Kenshin was shocked. _I hadn't thought of that. Could she... would she... really change her mind? No_, he thought fiercely, almost feeling his eyes turn gold. _I wouldn't let her. She is mine, and if any other man touched her, I will kill them. I won't lose her like I did with Tomoe..._

Saito and Aoshi watched as Kenshin's eyes went the gold of the Battousai. They saw this as a good sign, a sign that the Battousai was about to claim his woman. They were sure that that girl wouldn't be sad for much longer.


	3. Reasons

**Authors Note: **Standard disclaimer apply, I don't own RK, but I do own the original characters. Thanks to my beta Hikari Tsuki Chi, I have finally updated and revised everything. It is thanks to her that all this is possible.

**Chapter Three: Reasons  
**  
Minutes passed before Kenshin could again form solid thoughts. The two men with him seemed pleased with that. He was now as besotted with Kaoru as they were with their women.

But now was not the time to dwell on his love life. He needed his questions answered. There were things about this arrangement that he wasn't exactly comfortable with. There were too many unknown variables. Kaoru, Yahiko, and Megumi were all in danger if any more, seriously dangerous manslayers showed up.

"Saito, how many more manslayers is the government intending on sending here? And how long do they plan on keeping you all here"

In Kenshin's mind, these were the most important questions, the ones on the top of his list.

"The government has many designated safe-houses in various cities. Each group of manslayers is carefully selected so that there is a minimum chance that they will try to kill each other or civilians. Most of the manslayers that are being sent to safe-houses  
are those whose names are quite famous or that have been recently active. I don't know how many more they are planning to send here. The most they have sent to a house is seven, but you have to realize that we three are very special cases. As to the other, from my understanding on what they told me, they are keeping us here indefinitely."

Kenshin looked at Saito. It struck him as odd that he and Aoshi would agree to this arrangement without batting an eyelash. Because in the past they had both maintained that they disliked him intensely.

"Saito, Aoshi, how did they get you both to agree to this"

"To ensure that we complied with their wishes they kidnapped Tokio and Weasel Girl and threatened them with torture."

Kenshin's eyes narrowed, that the government he had fought to create would do such a despicable thing...he couldn't believe how many of them had been corrupted on their quest for power.

"Kenshin." This was the first time Aoshi had spoken in this conversation. Kenshin turned to face him. "The Kamiya Kasshin Style of sword techniques teaches an ideal that is similar to what the Meiji government preached during the Revolution. Tell me then, why does she have no students"

Kenshin sat down and leaned against the wall, folding one leg under the other that was bent at the knee, his sword resting against it. He then preceded to tell them of Gohei Hidama and how none of her students would come back.

"People are narrow-minded." Was all he said.

Kenshin agreed with him. He had heard her crying often in the middle of the night and  
whispering to herself "why don't people want to learn from me" and always he felt the guilt, that it was he who had caused her such pain, and the fact that he couldn't ease her suffering.

His train of thought was suddenly interrupted when he felt two strong spirits coming through the front door. All three men stood to attention and made their way to the courtyard.

**Earlier That Night  
**  
"Master, it is only a little farther, we do not need to stop at an inn when we are already in Tokyo. And yes, I know it is late, but pulling long nights has never bothered you before. Now, the others are already there, and I want to surprise them, they don't know we're  
coming. So, let's go, Master."

They walked down the streets of Tokyo, making their way to the Kamiya dojo. The girl looked at her companion. He was about an inch taller than she, which wasn't saying much. He had a ponytail, something she had never seen him without.

She turned back to the road, looking at her feet, watching as they moved from one step to the next. She had taken so many steps on this particular journey, and doing it with her young master wasn't a walk in the park. Though they were both childlike and cheerful by  
nature, they were both deadly killers. And putting the two together for weeks at a time with no respite was a mistake. She looked back up at her master, made a face. He was carrying that silly flower as if it were some kind of symbol for a great reunion. He had insisted upon the red flower, more so, he had insisted that she be the one to fetch it,  
and no amount of grumbling would sway him.

And they walked on.

**Not So Far Away**

The young man looked up and smiled"Are you sure it is necessary to bind my wrists like this, it is very uncomfortable."

The young man's voice was cheerful, as it always was. He didn't feel most emotions, so it was better to put others at ease by being cheerful and friendly. But these men didn't seem to want to reciprocate as most people did. In fact, they were being quite rude, not talking to him at all, but he wouldn't comment on it, it wasn't polite

* * *

Kenshin and the others made their way to the courtyard, and in their haste almost bumped into Megumi and Sano as they were leaving. Sano looked at Kenshin's face and immediately fell into step with him, telling Megumi to go back inside. She quickly shuffled Ayame and Sazume, who had been behind her, back into the house.

The door opened and two dark figures walked through. Kenshin didn't recognize them at first, but then a shaft of moonlight spread over them. Kenshin's face instantly registered surprise, he had been sure that this man was dead. But no, here he was, large as life, nothing had changed about him. The man standing before him threw him a red flower, as he always had, and then drew the young women with him into the light.

Saito gasped when he saw her, and then his face set into it's usually hard lines. "What are you doing here, Yue" he said this with the familiarity of long experience.

Kenshin could understand the man, but he had never met this girl before, but the man was one he had spent many times in battle with. He was the captain of the first squad of the Shinsengumi. Or he had been. And his name was Okita.

"Saito who is that girl" Sano asked. The person in question stood about 5'3", she had short black hair that came to her shoulders, it had been cut so that the ends were spiky, and her eyes were the green of emeralds. She wore tight leather pants under a loose over-shirt that was cut in the same style as Misao's everyday shirt, except that the clothes she wore were all black. At her side was a Japanese short sword and strapped to each thigh on either side was a pair of sai's.

"She's my daughter, Yue."

CRASH! BAM! BOOM!

Three faces hit the deck.

"Saito, you have a daughter, I had no idea."

"Where'd she get the good looks, certainly not you."

"I see she takes after her father, if that sword is any indication."

Saito let these comments slide by his ears without taking his eyes off his daughters'. Tokio was going to be thrilled.

Yue stepped forward"Father, I have some really horrible news" she said, smiling hugely, just as the man with her was, but Saito was used to her pranks, and didn't show the slightest bit of reaction. "It appears that we are here to stay, the government officials said so."

And then she laughed, as if it was all some great joke. To Saito, it was, the world was playing a very big joke on him.

In her, Kenshin recognized the same cheerful playfulness as Okita had had, and apparently still had. But he bet that underneath she was as mush a manslayer as Okita. There was only one other he had met like that, Soujiro Seta.

A swooshing noise broke the silence of the air as the man threw a red flower like he had in the past, which landed at his feet. "Mr. Himura, it has been too long. I cannot wait to see how much you have improved your Hiten Mitsurugi technique. May I present my student, Yue Saito. Yue is only seventeen, so be careful what you say in front of her."

Yue playfully slapped Okita, and they smiled at each other. It was apparent to anyone who saw them that they had a very deep bond.

"Hey Kenshin, who is that guy" Sano asked, still looking at Okita.

"That is Okita Soshi, he was the leader of the first squad of the Shinsengumi in Kyoto during the revolution. I met him many times there, but we never had a decisive battle. I had thought him dead all these years, but it appears I was wrong."

Okita looked over and nodded. "That's right. When Saito married Tokio I came to live with them. And when Yue came of age, I began to train her in the Shinsengumi style, of course she has already mastered the use of sai's. When the government told us we had to move out here we had half a mind to send them to the higher plane. But then Yue remembered that you were living here, and we decided we would enjoy seeing the sparks fly between the two of you. By the way, on the road here we saw a police contingent escorting someone that could be a manslayer, he looked a little young though, just thought I'd warn you."

"Sano, why don't you take them inside and get them settled. Yue can sleep in with the other girls and you can put Okita in with Yahiko and me. I need to talk to Saito and Aoshi for a moment."

Sano nodded, and, followed by Yue and Okita, made to follow Kenshin's orders.


	4. Guessing Games

**Authors Note: **Standard disclaimers apply. Big warm and fuzzies to my beta Hikari Tsuki Chi, you're the best.

**Chapter Four: Guessing Games**

"Saito, I'll give you two guesses who that "young" manslayer is, and the first one doesn't count." Kenshin said, his eyes narrowing and golden flecks appearing within their depths.

Saito smiled in a very sinister way, "My guess would be Soujiro Seta. And my other guess would be that you are not looking forward to his visit," he said with a sardonic twist to his mouth. Soujiro Seta, their old opponent from the Juppongatana. Kenshin sure as hell didn't want him here. He was a major threat to Yahiko and Kaoru, even though he had seemed to change. That the rest of this new family could protect themselves and their own, he didn't doubt. But he had to also think ways around Kaoru and Yahiko's pride.

Hopefully, the lessons Sano and Kaoru had been giving Megumi and the young girls, Ayame, Suzume, Tsubame, and Tae in self-defense would pay off, but he knew they would be no match against Soujiro Seta. And hopefully, Tokio knew how to defend herself. Though he knew, reality was rarely that beautiful.

"Did Okita happen to say how far away they were?" Aoshi asked. He was looking relatively calm given the situation, and Kenshin was exceedingly jealous that Aoshi could keep his cool when he was so close to loosing control.

"No, but I have a feeling they are not far behind. I don't believe he'll cause problems here, but we have to remember that his nature is that of a manslayer, he cannot be trusted, especially around the women and children."

"Misao can take care of herself." Aoshi said, a hint of pride peeking through his voice, he had taught her after all.

"As can Tokio and Yue. They are both skilled warriors." Saito said, deadpan.

"That's all well and good, and although Miss Kaoru and Yahiko can certainly take care of themselves, you also have to figure in the fact that the Kamiya Kasshin Style teaches them not to kill, and so they would be helpless against Soujiro. And Saito don't even bother suggesting it. Kaoru and Yahiko would never take up a sword that kills. We will need to prepare for him."

"Well then, I think I should say goodnight and go to bed. My wife is waiting for me to tell her everything and it's going to take me awhile. Goodnight."

As Saito was walking away Aoshi turned to Kenshin. The ninja had changed a lot after Kyoto, the look in his eyes was the look of man at peace with himself, not a man obsessed with power. Kenshin was proud to know Aoshi Shinamori, he was a good man, and Kenshin suspected that he also loved Misao, which was always a plus.

Kenshin smiled at him, "Shall we go in Aoshi?" Aoshi nodded and started for the house, making his way to Sano's room, where he would be sleeping tonight.

Kenshin looked up at the stars. _Please, _he thought, _give me the strength to protect them, I don't want to loose them, like I lost Tomoe. _At the thought of his dead wife, Kenshin decided to end his trail of thought and walk inside.

* * *

"Where are the extra sleeping mats, Miss Kaoru?" Misao asked, looking around the room.

Kaoru was sitting on her sleeping mat, dressed for bed and looking utterly exhausted.

Yahiko's voice came from just outside the door, "The extra mats are in the spare bedroom, which Saito is using. And I already got enough. I took Aoshi his earlier, oh, and by the way, Sano decided to go stay with Megumi and the girls, since Dr. Gensai's away, he felt they could use the protection. And here are Misao's and Yue's." He  
handed over the mats. "Kenshin already went to bed and told me to tell you goodnight. So goodnight."

"Thank you, Yahiko. I appreciate you helping out. I'll see you in the morning," Kaoru said, smiling at him. He flushed and walked away.

Kaoru was happy. When they first returned from Kyoto, she had thought that Yahiko would beg Kenshin to teach him the Hiten Mitsurugi Style and she would loose yet another student. But he hadn't. He had stood by her and the Kamiya Kasshin Style and he would never know how much it meant to her.

She was also immensely proud of him. He had developed new sword techniques by mimicking Kenshin, and done it all by himself. He had defeated a strong member of the Juppongatana. He was no longer just a novice, he was an apprentice.

She wished she could spend more time teaching him though. Just right now they needed the money brought in by her students outside the dojo, and that left very little time to train Yahiko. But he was taking it rather well and even offered to go with her. But she wouldn't let him. She didn't want him to know how some of her other students treated her. As it was she had to hide the bruises gained from the Namis brothers, men who already practiced the Shinta Style of sword fighting, but wanted another master to spar with them. Those men terrified her, but she needed the money to support her family. But  
hopefully, the money generated by Aoshi's school would alleviate that. Right now all she wanted was to go to sleep.

* * *

Misao was running.

There was a popping noise coming from behind her.

The gun. The gatling gun that killed Beshimi, Hyotoko, Shikijo, and Hannya. Her beloved Hanya. Oh, how she missed them. But now she had to run. Run before she was dead too.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move. Her feet were moving but she wasn't going anywhere, and the gun was getting closer.

_Lord Aoshi_, she thought, _save me._

Then she saw his image in front of her. She smiled and reached out, but he turned his back and walked away. The bullets got louder.

_No, Lord Aoshi, _she thought. _Don't leave me Lord Aoshi. Lord Aoshi, noooooooo. _

Aoshi woke to a panting breathe and running feet headed his way. He sat up immediately, reaching for his kodachi, but before he could grab it, the door swung open and there stood Misao, her eyes wild and her breathing labored. An instant later she was flying, flinging  
herself into his arms.

"Oh, Lord Aoshi," she cried, burying her face in his chest. He held her while she cried, her tears soaking his nightshirt, her shoulders shaking while he held her.

He knew what plagued her. The dreams, the ones she had started having the closer they got to Tokyo. He knew there was nothing he could do. Her dreams were the one thing he could not kill with his kodachi.

He drew her to him and pulled her onto the mat and under the covers, then lay down beside her, wrapping her in his arms and giving her his warmth. He murmured soothing words to her until she fell asleep. Then he lay awake to make certain she slept soundly.

And then he nodded off.

_Sleep well_, was his last thought, _my beloved. _

* * *

Yue woke before dawn. Slowly creeping out of Kaoru's bedroom and into Kenshin's, where Okita was waiting for her. "Are you ready to have some fun?"

"Oh yes."

Yue smiled. They slowly walked out of the room, making sure not to upset the Battousai or the young boy. They walked down the hall to Sano's room, which both Aoshi and Misao were currently occupying.

"So," Okita said, his voice cheerful as always, but with a hint of mischievousness, "How are we going to pull this one off?"

"Oh, I think we can leave that all up to my mother. You see, Mother and Father's room is right across the hall. My mother is always the first one up, so if we open this door," she indicated the one leading to Aoshi's room, "then she will go on another righteous act and leave us alone. And as an added bonus, we get front-row tickets." They set to work. And as they worked Okita watched her, he had to admit that this was the fastest way to get Tokio off their backs, but what Tokio was saying was right. They had been caught in a compromising situation, and he, for one, had no aversions about marrying Yue. As a student, she was much too rebellious, as a friend, she was the very best, and as a lover he was sure she would excel.

He had always loved her. Fro the first time he had met her. She had been just a little girl, barely seven when he and Saito had come home from the war, he had still been in shock that his comrade actually had a wife and daughter. He had been so in shock, in fact, that he hadn't noticed until it was too late that the girl who looked too small to be seven had climbed up his back and perched herself on his shoulders. Leaning over to face him she had smiled, and he had been in love ever since.

After a time he had noticed her interest in sword-fighting and decided to train her in the style of Shinsengumi. She had been a quick learner. They had had a lot of fun together. Especially pulling pranks on the people around them. Most especially Tokio. But they had gone one prank too far and Tokio had set her matchmaking eyes on them, Okita really didn't mind, but he played along for Yue's sake. Now they were trying to redirect Tokio's sights onto a prime couple, Aoshi and Misao.

The plan was three steps of elaborate scheming. First, they had to rig the doors, so that when Tokio opened her door the door to Aoshi and Misao's room would open as well. They knew that Tokio was always the first one awake in the morning, so there was no possibility of Hajime stepping into their trap instead.

The second stage was to suspend a bucket of cold water over Aoshi and Misao's bed that was attached to the door. So when their door was opened, the water would fall on them. In the ensuring confusion, they would have no time to think up a good excuse for their compromising position and Tokio would no doubt see them. This would have been a difficult job for any ordinary people, but for seasoned pranksters like them, it was a piece of cake.

The third and final touch was to put slippery oil in front of Tokio's door so that she would slide straight into Aoshi and Misao's bedroom. The whole plan would be executed in just a few seconds but would have to be put together perfectly or else it was doomed to fail.

Okita sat up and looked at Yue. "It looks like we're done, good thing too, Tokio will be awake in a few minutes. So, where are our front row seats?"

Yue grinned.

* * *

Slipping back into Kenshin's room, Okita was greeted with Kenshin's glaze. Holding it for what seemed like hours, Okita's mischievousness one matching Kenshin's passive one.

Finally closing his eyes and sighing, Kenshin said, "Whatever it is, I don't want to know. I'll be hearing about it soon enough."

"What's to say that something's going on?" Okita asked as he grabbed some kind of snack food out of his travel bag.

Giving him a look that said 'Yeah right', Kenshin said, "Well you and Miss Yue better be damn good at dodging kunai when Miss Misao finds out that it was you."

"Who says that she'll find out?" He questioned, settling back down. Just as Okita walked back out into the hallway he could have swore that the Battousai muttered something about what he had done to deserve this.


	5. Pranksters Run Wild

**Authors Note: **Standard disclaimers apply. Warm fuzzies to my beta, Hikari Tsuki Chi, who is the absolute best beta in the world.

**Chapter Five: Pranksters Run Wild**

Tokio had already decided that it would be a bad day when she opened the door to her room, looked out, and saw a wet, struggling, and cursing Aoshi and Misao in an extremely compromising situation. But when she took a single step in their direction and suddenly found herself sliding past her door and into their room, then fell down onto her hands and knees, she knew it was going to be a horrible day.

Aoshi and Misao looked up at her. They were both wet, the bed was wet, the room was dry. All three of them noticed this at the same time.

"I can explain-" Misao started but Tokio held up her hand to cut Misao off. She looked to Aoshi before nodding and getting up.

"I suggest that you both start preparing for a wedding. And don't think you can get out of it, I have, moves that you ninja's have never seen." With that she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. "I suppose you thought that was fun?" she asked the two pranksters who were at the end of the hall, sitting in chairs and munching on snacks.

"It was quite amusing." Okita said, the smile never leaving his face.

"So," Yue questioned, "are we aiming for a June wedding, or do you want to wait 'til August?"

"They have ten days."

Two gasps were her only answer as she went to help Kenshin make breakfast. They knew their time was coming.

* * *

Kaoru was the last to wake up, as usual. She dressed quickly in her training clothes and readied herself for a day of abuse from the Namis Brothers. She knew that if she told Kenshin about it he would stop the abuse immediately, but then they would have no income. The Namis were a powerful family, and could make sure that she never again got work anywhere, and it wouldn't be hard, it was already difficult for a woman to get a job in Japan.

And then if Kenshin did do something, the police might decide to do something about him, like putting him in jail, or worse.

So she said nothing and that was the way it was going to stay.

She walked out of her room and into the kitchen where Kenshin and Tokio were making breakfast. Aoshi, Misao, and Saito were sitting patiently at the table she could hear sounds outside that suggested Yahiko was training.

"Good morning everyone," she said cheerfully, and then turned to smile at Kenshin as she sat down at the table beside Aoshi. He handed her a cup and poured her some tea. "Thank you, Aoshi."

"Where do you plan on going today, Miss Kaoru?" Kenshin inquired as he used his favorite kitchen knife to chop some miso.

"Today I have my appointment with the Namis Brothers. After that I will come back and train Yahiko." As she talked, she tried to keep the quivering out of her voice.

"Miss Kaoru, I was meaning to talk to you about your students. Now that Aoshi is going to be opening a kempo school, we were thinking that you should bring your students back to the dojo. That way you have more time for yourself."

Kaoru thought it was a great idea, but she couldn't do it, the Namis Brothers would never behave like normal students. But she would figure it out. "That sounds like a great idea Kenshin. It would give me more time with Yahiko."

Kenshin smiled, nodded, and went back to making breakfast. "By the way, Miss Kaoru, Yahiko said that he would come eat later, so it will just be us this morning."

Kaoru thought that it was a good idea that Yahiko was training harder, but she worried about him. Since returning from Kyoto he had been quieter, sometimes so much that she wouldn't be able to tell if he was behind her unless he said her name. He hadn't been performing any of his usual antics like sneaking up behind her and scaring her. She hoped he would be okay. But she felt guilty for worrying more that he might have found out about the Namis Brothers.

After breakfast was made they all sat down quietly and began to eat. The food was delicious, but the riceballs that Tokio had made were the best she'd ever tasted and she told Tokio such. Tokio thanked her and Saito smirked at his wife's blush.

They continued their meal in silence for about ten minutes until Kaoru noticed Misao squirming in her seat and looking expectedly at Aoshi. He looked annoyed for a moment, and then stood.

"I have an announcement to make. Misao and _I_," he briefly glanced over at Tokio and Saito looked suspiciously at her, "have decided to marry."

Crash. Bang. Boom.

"I can't believe you're marrying her, is there something wrong with you Aoshi?" Yahiko screamed from the doorway where he had been eavesdropping. Aoshi looked as if he was about to skewer Yahiko on his kodachi's before Kaoru spoke up.

"Yahiko, don't you know it's not polite to eavesdrop?" Kaoru ranted while running around chasing Yahiko and trying to hit him. It became a melee when Misao decided to join in and avenge herself upon Yahiko.

Kenshin stood up, threw one hand out, lightning fast, and caught Yahiko, threw the other one out and caught Kaoru. Aoshi likewise threw out his left arm and brought Misao into his arms with her back against his front in a restraining hug. Kaoru saw it and wished Kenshin would hold her like that.

Saito sat up, "You two should be embarrassed," he exclaimed, addressing Kenshin and Aoshi. "At least my wife knows how to behave in a public setting." At this Tokio shot him a look hat said clearly that she didn't like being regarded to as merely his wife.

"Hello, is anyone home? Miss Kaoru, I've come to visit!" Kaoru looked up from where Kenshin's hand was wrapped up in her robes. She recognized that voice, from somewhere recent….Kamatari! That's who it was, Kaoru frowned, why was Kamatari visiting?

Kaoru rushed out of the house with everyone else close behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight awaiting her in the front yard. She stopped so abruptly that Yahiko crashed into her from behind. She stood there, wide-eyed, open-mouthed, absolutely shocked.

Kamatari stood there, yes, and he wasn't alone. Chou the Swordhunter was there, winking at her. Behind them were about ten police officers, five on each side of their prisoner, Soujiro Seta. But that wasn't the shocking part. , Kamatari was wearing pants. In fact he was dressed a lot like Aoshi, except for he didn't have a trench coat and his short hair was in a tie. He looked like a guy, he looked _good_ for a guy.

"Ka-Kamatari, what are you wearing?" Kaoru stuttered.

"Oh, this," Kamatari glanced down at himself, "what with no Master Shishio, I figured I didn't want to be a girl anymore. Plus, since you had such a big impact on that decision I figured I should come thank you. So, thank you."

"And you," Kenshin asked, "what are you doing here, Chou the Swordhunter?"

"Oh, I ain't no sword hunter no more, got me a job with the government. Now I escort these her manslayers to their safe houses. Just so happens that Soujiro here is you people's problem now."

Soujiro smiled from where he was and waved at them all. "Hello, Mr. Himura, Mr. Shinamori, Mr. Saito, it's a pleasure to see you again. I don't believe I've met you," he said to Kaoru, "but I'm guessing that you are Miss Kamiya. I am Soujiro Seta, pleased to meet you.

Kaoru mentally shook herself. She had never met the Tenken before but had heard of him from Sanosuke. Supposedly, he was an emotionless killer who had been mentally conditioned by Makoto Shishio. He reminded her of Okita and Yue, whom she had hear Yahiko saying, were the "smiling slayers". Soujiro definitely fit in with that description.

"Yes, I am Kaoru Kamiya. This is my home and I guess you'll be living here for a while."

"Thank you for allowing me to stay," he said politely and bowed, then he turned to the police officers. "You can leave now." It seemed, from the fact that they all left rather quickly, that they couldn't wait to get away from the manslayer.

Kamatari glanced at their retreating backs and looked curious as to why they would turn so fast. He then turned back to Kaoru and smiled cheerfully. "Why don't we go get settled? Now Kaoru, I know that you don't have much space here so I wanted you to know that I am fully prepared to sleep in your room, and even in your bed if necessary." As he talked he moved closer to Kaoru until he was talking right beside her ear in a very low voice.

His voice was so low and so close to her ear that Kaoru shivered. She didn't mind though, she knew he was just fooling around; besides, it felt nice to be wanted that way.

Kenshin, however, did not see it that way, in fact, Kenshin didn't see it at all, but the Battousai did, and he didn't like it at all. In fact, at the moment, he was wondering what Kamatari's guts would look like on his sword. But he wouldn't make a move like that in front of Kaoru. He would talk to Kamatari later, when the house was quiet and Kamatari was gone.

Chou noticed the look on the Battousai's face and decided that Kamatari's display was getting too out of hand, so he decided to put a stop to it by asking Kamatari to help him with the luggage that the police had left on the ground. But the look on the Battousai's face said that he was not finished with Kamatari, and the old flirt didn't even have a clue as to what was going on around him.

* * *

Soujiro had also seen the display that Kamatari had put on. Though Soujiro didn't blame him, Miss Kaoru was very lovely indeed, but Kamatari knew that he was poaching. But the Battousai was wrong if he thought he could easily defeat Kamatari, or intimidate him. True, Kaoru had defeated him, but only because, at the time, Kamatari had been a female, and created limitations for himself, as a man, he had no such limitations, and was far more dangerous, especially in pursuit of a woman. The Battousai would be wise not to underestimate him. They would all do well not to underestimate him.

* * *

Kaoru was on her way to the Namis estate, and with every step she took the cold weight of dread settled further into her belly. She went through this once a week, but today felt different. The Namis brothers had been getting worse and worse. They had gone from simply sparing with her to practically beating her within weeks. She was afraid of how much further they would go. Shinzo, the younger of the twins, had been looking at her the way she had seen some of the men in town looking at the working ladies. And she had heard rumors about Kage's wild perversions.

She hated to admit it, but she was scared to death. She wished she could tell Kenshin, but she had had that argument with herself before. She walked on, never noticing the shadow that followed her.

* * *

Kenshin had seen Kaoru leave for her weekly session with the Namis brothers. She thought that he hadn't noticed how scared she was. With so many of his former rivals now living with him, he had, without really thinking, roused the instincts of ten years ago. For a while, he had felt in his gut that she wasn't all right, but now it was even greater. Just as he was at the gate, Yahiko called, "Oi, Kenshin! Mrs. Saitou wants you to get more tofu for dinner tonight!"

Sliding open the gate, Kenshin smiled and said, "I'm sorry Yahiko, but I have something to do in town. I may be gone a while, okay?" He walked out the gate, sliding the door closed.

Looking down at the bucket he had been waving at Kenshin, Yahiko started and said, "Hey…does this mean that I hafta go get it?"

* * *

Saito couldn't believe he'd let Tokio talk him into babysitting the ninja all day. One thing was for sure, he sure as hell better be getting a reward for having to listen to the ninja go on and on about his new school, Misao, and the complaints about Tokio, which he didn't appreciate. And now the ninja was asking if _he_ wanted to teach the Shinsengumi swordfighting technique at Aoshi's new school. That idea actually had merit. But he wouldn't tell the ninja that. But it would be beneficial to both him and Okita, maybe even Yue, if she didn't wind up killing her student. Buy, that brought back memories.

Yue was about thirteen at the time and already a master of the sais and the bow staff. She had been home from he travels to Niigata with Okita and had been training harder than ever, to the point where he got tired just looking at her. During that time he hadn't been working full time for the government and had had a few students who trained with him twice a week. One such student, Kenta, who was the strongest of his students, so strong Saito sometimes wished the boy had been born before the war ended, had taken a strong interest in Yue. Not that she noticed, she was completely oblivious to boys, concentrating her life on fighting, but Okita noticed. Saito knew that Okita had been in love with his daughter for some time, but he hadn't realized how dangerous that love could be until that day. Okita hadn't even killed him.

Okita had been talking to Saito, and, knowing that Kenta was passing by at exactly that moment, had commented that he believed Yue to be the greatest swordfighter to come from the Shinsengumi training program since himself. This of course caused Kenta to puff up with outrage saying that he was better, being the man, Okita cheerfully said that he would set up a battle to see once and for all, who was the best.

But Okita had taught Yue more than how to kill, he had taught her to play with her prey, given the time, and play she did. She slashed at him until he was exhausted and his skin was nearly flayed off the bone. And only then, with a smile on her face and a swift kiss on his lips, his last kiss, she plunged her sword into his heart and through his body. After all, it's what she had been taught to do.

After that, he had never underestimated Okita's love for Yue again, not that she would ever notice, after all, Okita had also taught her to never become distracted. Thus he had doomed himself. Saito felt sorry for him for a moment, but only for a moment.

* * *

Kaoru took another hit to her back and quickly scampered up to try to run away. But she had forgotten how swift Kage could be. So while she was avoiding Shinzo's boken in her attempt to get to the door, Kage cut her off and effectively cut her off from the only exit.

"Let me go, the lessen is over, I need to go home," Kaoru screamed, trying to wiggle out of Kage's crushing hold.

"Did you really think that we would allow you to leave? We have waited for you to accept this fate, but it appears that you need to be showed. You are not leaving, get used to it."

With that said, he put a hand over her mouth and carried her over to a corner where Shinzo was waiting to tie her up.

* * *

Soujiro could not believe that the Battousai would allow it. Soujiro had gone through it when he was a child and he wasn't about to let it happen to someone who was so kind to him. He walked quickly into town, moving so fast that none could see him. He would find them and warn them, and that was all. After all, he had a reputation to protect.

* * *

Aoshi felt Soujiro's chi before he saw him. The Tenken was coming at them with speed no eye could detect. For a second, he even wondered if Soujiro was going to attack. But he that Soujiro wouldn't risk fighting both him and Saito.

Soujiro rushed up to them and stopped suddenly. So suddenly that it looked as if the movement had simply been taken from his body. He embodied stillness. But the look in his eyes was all movement, his eyes were like fire they burned so bright, burned straight through Aoshi. Something was wrong. Aoshi knew it, knew that Soujiro knew it, knew that Soujiro was going to tell him.

"What do you want Soujiro?" Saito said on a sigh. It had been a long day and he wasn't in the mood for games. When he got back to the dojo, he was going to grab his wife and go straight to bed. It was all her fault too.

Soujiro smirked and leaned against one of the stands that were always set up in the market. He looked like the cat that ate the canary, and at the same time, he managed to appear angelic.

"It's interesting, the relationship that Miss Kaoru and the Battousai have." He said, and there was that smirk again, a smirk that told you he knew more than he was letting on.

Aoshi sniffed and looked superior. "I do not concern myself in the relationships of others, especially that of the Battousai."

Saito took a few seconds to give Aoshi a look, and it was not a friendly look. "Continue Soujiro."

"Miss Kamiya went to the Namis estate today. Someone should walk her home, you never know what could happen." Then he disappeared, with not even the sound of footprints left behind.

Aoshi turned to look at Saito, "What did he just tell us Saito?"

Saito smiled, _So the Tenken does have a heart. _"I believe we should go to the Namis estate, Miss Kaoru may need help walking home," he started to move and said in an undertone, " or being carried."

* * *

Kenshin could literally feel his eyes melt to gold as he watched them. His hand rested mere centimeters from the hilt of his sword; waiting for the moment he could enter the fray. He felt, in his mind, the Rurouni's control waver, and the Battousai's grow stronger. After all, they had touched her. 


End file.
